Great Trade
The '''Great Trade '''is a term that refers to the trade of goods from the western and Southern regions of the Southern Continent, particularly the Fertile Plains and Toran, to the vast markets of the Northern Continent. While the term primarily refers to the Anglean period (~750-1200) and the Medieval period (~1300-1600), the term continues to be used today in various forms. First Great Trade The First Grade Trade came about due to the rise of the markets of the Anglean Empire and that state's technological advances that allowed for globalism. Primarily, Anglean merchants traded metals, books, weapons, ships, beer, and foodstuffs in exchange for tea, spices, silk, gold, cannabis and porcelain. Originally produced by a wide range of small states throughout the global southwest, the demand for long-distance trade facilitated the rise of two major states in this region, the Toranese Empire and the Kharpin Empire. This trade primarily flowed two directions. Most trade from Toran went north, through Avedon and either north by sea via the Bhubari merchants or straight, carried by Sudyar merchants who would eventually form into the Sudyar Empire. As such, the primary cities of this intermediate trade were Asurcaya, Apala, Sranashta, Bhayamathra, and Marsepat, all cities that rose because of this trade. The other route, including much of the trade from the Fertile Plains (although some of this crossed the mountains to Toran), was carried by Capulusian or Bora-Bora traders across the Capulusian Gulf to the Azdaqs, who carried it north from a numer of cities - most notably the rising Dimarqis - through modern-day Tara, once again leading to the formation of powerful northern and southern Azdaq states. Both of these two paths were typically rejoined at Harbelon, where Anglean merchants traveled and traded in the city's grand markets. The geopolitical significance of Harbelon became so massive that Anglea thrust its entire military effort into the city's conquest, finally succeeding in 987, from which point on Anglea truly became dominant in the Great Trade. The first Great Trade has been associated with many of the most important developments in the ancient world and in the rise of world civilization as we know it today. There were few to no powerful centralized military-economic states on the Southern Continent before the rise of the Great Trade. The massive demand for Southern goods in Anglea both created the empire's consumer class, and the emerging concept of a "middle class" or "bourgeoisie," and shaped Anglean culture, cuisine, fashion and leisure. Historian George Gilbert called the Anglean Golden Age a reflection of the empire's trading dominance. Historians of capitalism also see the first emergence of the capitalist order in the Great Trade. Second Great Trade The First Great Trade fizzled out with the demise of Anglea. While it never stopped entirely, the lack of an organized and central market in the north made the Great Trade less significant. However, the Great Trade soon reemerged as states reorganized themselves in the North and new markets opened. This trade involved many of the same goods. One notable difference is that the Second Great Trade involved a larger trade of ideas. This is because, just as Anglea had developed a powerful merchant class, the growing empires of the South also began to develop merchant classes, most notably Toran, which during this period became the wealthiest and most powerful state in the world. Toran achieved this by taking over all of the regions of productions, expanding north into Avedon and Salan, west to conquer Ptolomaise, and east to eventually dominate the Kharpin Empire and dominate the Fertile Plains. Between 1350 and 1550, Toran played the role that Anglea had played, dominating and dictating the terms of the Great Trade. There were many other players, however. The north was now many states, but the trade continued to facilitate the development of empires. Notable among these was Sednyana, whose ties to the Anglean World but position on the Southern Continent made it a very important player in global trade, and largely deflected trade from Harbelon to pass through it instead. While the Crown of Harbelon continued to prosper on northern trade routes during this period, the southern trade routes typically passed straight through Sednyana and then north by ship instead of through Harbelon. This massive trade between Toran and Sednyana was particularly notable as a trade of ideas, including the passing on of the ideals of constitutional governance of Ptomar of Avedon that helped inspire George Ross and James Haddick's democratic republic. The ideal of capitalist democracy developed as an interplay between the ideas of Anglea and Toran on the routes of the Great Trade. Many of the powerful intermediate cities of this route changed, but others stayed the same. Dhemarqua only grew in importance, while Marsepat was largely replaced by Hadieva as the Jafarin Dynasty conquered the Sudyars and took over trade. The Bhubari continued to trade to Harbelon through Sranashta and Bhayamathra. Chorspachar, Munera, Kupra, and Ötmund grew in importance in the South. Most notable in this trade was the island of Frederickstown, which grew in importance and set the stage for Sednyana's intellectual revolution. During this time, Eqota grew in significance, and came to dominate Sednyana and Toran for control of the Second Great Trade, aspiring to be a maritime empire that dominated world trade. Defeating Sednyana at Dhemarqua in 1420, Eqota became the most powerful empire in world trade in the fifteenth century and eventually established itself in the Fertile Plains. On the Plains of Aigkor in 1553, Eqota was defeated by Toran under Emperor Karakor Donzam, who eventually drove them from the continent and removed Eqota - for the moment - from the Great Trade. Third Great Trade The fall of Toran at the start of the seventeenth century and the collapse of that region into warring states led to the end of the era traditionally identified as the Second Great Trade. The Third Great Trade is usually considered to have begun around 1700; while trade did not cease during the seventeenth century, a large and organized global trade was not as present during this period, dominated by conflicts over the meaning of nationalism and democracy. By the eighteenth century, Sednyana and Eqota had reemerged as the major players in the Great Trade. Eqota, this time, established itself of the northern coast of the Southern Continent to control the northern trade, while Sednana moved inland and attempted to establish a sphere of influence in what is known as the period of Imperial Democracy.